


Sweet Summer Sweat

by MamaBearCat



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Animal Instincts, Bathing/Washing, F/M, Hot Springs & Onsen, Inu is a musky husky, Scent Marking, Sweat, scent kink (kind of I guess?)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:01:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26209858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaBearCat/pseuds/MamaBearCat
Summary: Kagome bit her lip, trying to think of a solution as as she walked along behind Inuyasha. The hot afternoon sun was still beating down on them as he led them along a dusty dirt road in the middle of nowhere. She wracked her brain, trying to think of a tactful way out of her predicament, but nothing was coming to mind. She was the first to admit she didn’t smell like a rose garden herself after walking all day in the scorching Summer heat, but… there was no way around it. Inuyasha stank. And she had no idea how to tell him.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha
Comments: 72
Kudos: 244





	1. Sour

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OrpheusUnderneath](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrpheusUnderneath/gifts).



> A little gift fic for @underwater0phelia after a conversation on the Inuyasha Book Club discord. This is part one - there will be a second, E rated part later, when I catch up with all the other writing on my calendar!

Kagome bit her lip, trying to think of a solution as as she walked along behind Inuyasha. The hot afternoon sun was still beating down on them as he led them along a dusty dirt road in the middle of nowhere. She wracked her brain, trying to think of a tactful way out of her predicament, but nothing was coming to mind. She was the first to admit she didn’t smell like a rose garden herself after walking all day in the scorching Summer heat, but… there was no way around it. Inuyasha stank. And she had no idea how to tell him.

He didn’t usually smell bad; he didn’t usually seem to sweat very much at all. It wasn’t like being constantly trapped in a room with high school boys her own age after lunch when they all came in off the soccer field – now _that_ stank. Usually he tended to smell like the cedar trees he spent so much time in, with a base muskiness that she actually kind of liked. Okay, she kind of liked it a lot.

But this last week, as the temperature climbed higher than she’d ever experienced on this side of the well, he’d been sweating just as much as the rest of them. And while her and Sango and Miroku had been sure to bathe and wash their clothes whenever they came across a stream or a pool or even a hot spring, although that wasn’t quite as enjoyable in the summer heat, he hadn’t. Shippou hadn’t either, but his scent didn’t seem to have the same… sour ripeness… that Inuyasha’s had.

Miroku ambled past her, his attention firmly focused on Sango’s shapely rear, and she halted his progress by reaching out one hand to tug on his sleeve.

“Yes Lady Kagome?” he asked, dragging his eyes away from their intended target with an effort.

“Miroku”, she whispered, keeping one eye on Inuyasha’s ears to make sure they didn’t turn in their direction. “I need your help. We have to tell Inuyasha.”

Miroku answered in a puzzled whisper. “We have to tell Inuyasha what precisely, Lady Kagome?”

“We have to tell him… he needs a bath.”

Miroku held both hands up defensively, taking a step back and shaking his head.

“And why would ‘we’ need to tell him anything of the sort? I value my existence, my Lady, however little of it I have left. It would be irrational in the extreme for me to tempt fate in such a way.”

Kagome made a small whimpering sound.

“It’s alright for _you_. A lot of the time you’re up with Sango and Shippou on Kirara’s back – he’s not carrying you around, up close and personal.”

She usually loved being on Inuyasha’s back. It was one of her favourite things, holding on to his strong shoulders as he leaped above the trees at breakneck speed, his large hands wrapped firmly around her thighs. But at the moment, she really didn’t want to get anywhere near those sweaty clothes of his. It probably wasn’t even his fire rat that stank, because he’d told them often enough that was self cleaning, but getting close to the smell of that under kosode wasn’t an experience she wanted to repeat. Not to mention the body odour that seemed to wrap around him like his own personal scent cloud.

Miroku patted her on the shoulder in a commiserating fashion, and bowed his head in prayer. “A blessing upon you, in your time of need. And as much as I care for you as a friend, my dear Kagome, you’re _definitely_ on your own in this. Perhaps it will rain soon?”

Kagome shrugged his hand off her shoulder with a grumbling growl worthy of Inuyasha himself.

“Some friend _you_ are. I just don’t understand how he can’t smell himself. He’s always bragging about his sense of smell; it’s a wonder he doesn’t knock himself over with his own stench!”

“Perhaps it’s a demon thing?” Miroku suggested, his eyes now drawn irresistibly back towards Sango, who had paused at the side of the road for a moment, bending to pick a handful of daisies. “Excuse me Lady Kagome, I’ll leave you to your thoughts.”

‘A demon thing’, thought Kagome, pondering as she walked along, watching Inuyasha’s ears flick a fly away, and ignoring the sudden familiar sound of a loud slap in the background. ‘Or, maybe a dog thing. Or a boy thing. Maybe all three?’

She remembered helping Ayumi bathe her dog once, finally getting him washed and mostly dried, only to have him escape and roll in the grass as soon as they loosened their hold on him. Ayumi had explained that most dogs didn’t like the scent of shampoo, and liked to smell like ‘themselves’. So perhaps that was it. She just wasn’t sure how much more ‘concentrated Inuyasha’ she could handle. The situation was slightly ridiculous, yes, but she was currently avoiding him because of it, and she didn’t like it.

“Hey Inuyasha”, she called out, “do you think we’ll be able to take a break soon?” She quickened her steps so that she was walking beside him.

“Why do ya wanna stop so soon?” he asked, raising one dark eyebrow. “It’s not even close to sunset yet.”

As he turned his head towards her, a fresh wave of sweaty body odour was released under her nose, and she held her breath for a second, closing her eyes. Something definitely had to be done. But she wanted to be tactful, and not hurt his feelings. Even though he put up a hard front, she knew just how fragile his self esteem was, and she didn’t want to do anything to damage it, or their closeness.

She forced a laugh, pulling at her own sweaty clothes and then waving her hand in front of her nose in an exaggerated fashion. “Well, I need to wash these and my other clothes, and it would be nice to have a bit of sunlight to get them dry before nightfall. I don’t have anything clean left, and with it being so hot, I’ve got all sweaty. I must smell pretty bad, huh?”

She saw his nose twitch slightly, and he got the strangest look on his face before coughing slightly and turning his face aside, eyes averted. “No, you smell fine to me.”

“Oh, come on. I reek! It’s okay to say it Inuyasha, I don’t mind. The sooner I scrub myself and my clothes the better I’ll smell.”

He huffed out a grumbling sigh.

Kagome bit her lip. “You know, I could wash your clothes for you too. I wouldn’t mind. In fact I’d _like_ to do it for you.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Why would I wanna smell like a bunch’a flowers? I’m half dog youkai Kagome, in case you hadn’t noticed. And that’s how I should smell. Not all girly and shit.”

“Oh.” Damn. There went _that_ plan.

“Besides, if I smell like that soap you use, I won’t be able to properly scent anything else. It’s hard enough as it is, with you-“, he broke off with a cough. “Never mind. If I come across a stream or anythin’ I’ll let ya know alright?” She tugged on his sleeve in concern.

“Wait, what were you going to say Inuyasha? Does the soap and detergent I use bother you?”

He rubbed his nose self consciously. “Uh… not _all_ the time. But at the moment, you’re washing a lot, and it’s just… if you use too much soap, you don’t smell like you anymore. Right _now_ , you smell like you. And it’s…” he coughed again.

“Bad?”

“No! I… I like the way ya smell.”

Kagome grinned shyly at him.

“I remember you told me that once before.”

“I… did, didn’t I.” She bumped her shoulder against him, and he bumped her back.

“It’s just that in my time, we’re taught that the smell of sweat is a bad thing, and we need to wash it away or cover it up”, she explained. He grunted, shaking his head.

“People smell for a reason. How does anyone ever find out who they like in your time if they wash their scent away?”

“What do you mean, who they like? Oh, do you mean pheromones?”

Inuyasha grunted again. “I dunno any fancy words for it. But if someone smells good to you, they’re more likely to be a good mate.” He shrugged self-consciously. “Or… so I’m told. Not that I’d know anything about that.”

They both blushed, looking away from each other to the opposite sides of the road. Internally Kagome was squealing in excitement, adding all those comments together. ‘He likes how I _smell_!’ She wanted to giggle out loud and dance an excited jig on the dusty road, but held herself together. Barely.

“What _do_ I smell like to you?” she asked curiously. He made an embarrassed grumbling noise in the back of his throat.

“Kagome…”

“What if I tell you what you smell like to me, will you tell me then?”

His ears twitched, trembling slightly, and he inhaled harshly. And she realised, that this answer was important to him. Very important. She took a deep breath of her own.

“Usually, you smell like cedar. Sort of woodsy, which I guess makes sense, seeing you spend a lot of time in trees. And there’s another smell underneath it. Kind of musky.” She couldn’t help the blush that heated her cheeks then, remembering what it was like to bury her nose into the back of his neck as he ran, tucked underneath a waterfall of hair. “I like that smell”, she said softly, and her eyes lifted to Inuyasha’s. The look he gave her was burning and intense.

“You smell sweet. Like fruit”, he blurted. “Sometimes… you smell like sweet sesame oil. I like that smell too.” The blush on his face was so intense it had even coloured the tips of his quivering ears. Then he frowned. “Wait a minute. You said _usually_. I don’t smell like that right now?” Kagome’s eyes widened, glancing around for a way to change the subject.

“Ah ha ha! Look at that – I think Shippou needs me!” Kagome said, pointing over to where Shippou was leaping through the long sun bleached grass at the side of the road, chasing grasshoppers and trying to catch one in his little paws.

“Oi. You’re not goin’ anywhere until you tell me what you meant by _usually_ ”, he grumbled, his hand tugging down the one she’d used to point towards Shippou with.

“Oh”, she stammered. “Well. You see the thing is…”

“She doesn’t want to tell you that humans don’t enjoy the smell of sweat when it’s a few days old”, piped up Shippou. “Basically, you stink.”

“Wat?!”

“Shippou, that’s not nice!” Kagome protested loudly.

“It’s true though isn’t it?” said Shippou matter of factly, his eyes still focused on the softly waving grass in front of him. “Humans don’t like the smell of stale sweat. I heard some of the village women talking about it when they were washing at the river, trying to get the smell out of their husbands’ under kosode.”

He leapt for the grasshopper he had his eye on, then pouted when it slipped out of his grasp.

“Predator type youkai like Inuyasha don’t care, it makes their scent stronger and warns off potential threats, especially if they have a pack with young pups to look after.” He stood up, dusting off his tiny paws on his hakama.

“How do you know so much runt?” grumbled Inuyasha, crossing his arms defensively, his eyes flicking between Shippou and Kagome.

“Because my Otōsan told me. Kitsune need to know all about humans and other youkai so they can trick ‘em better”, he grinned. “And he told me that when I was older and my scent started changing, that I would need to wash more often to make sure my scent didn’t give me away, especially to youkai bigger’n me.” 

Shippou snorted in an exasperated fashion. “Besides, it was easy to tell. Kagome usually walks right next to you and drops hints about being tired so you’ll carry her because she wants to be close to you. But she’s been hanging back next to _Miroku_.” He made a gagging face. “That should tell you everything you need to know.”

“Eep.”

Inuyasha’s head swiveled towards Kagome at the sound of her nervous squeak, his eyes narrowing at her embarrassed expression.

“This true wench?”

“Um, which part?” she said in a small voice, trying to avoid his focused gaze and twisting her fingers together.

“The part where I _stink_ ”, he said, tapping his foot on the ground. Kagome sighed, her eyes dropping to the ground.

“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings”, she whispered. “I’m sorry.”

Inuyasha huffed out an exasperated sigh.

“So, how long have I stunk to you?”

Kagome shook her head keeping her eyes downwards, and he marched over to her, lifting her face gently with one long clawed finger under her chin.

“I wanna know, so I don’t do it again. Me scarin’ off other youkai don’t mean squat if it also means you don’t wanna be close to me.”

Shippou made another loud gagging noise in the background.

“I think you’ve got somewhere else you need ta be right now runt, unless you wanna get up close and personal with the stink of my fist”, growled Inuyasha, not taking his eyes off Kagome.

“Gotcha.”

Shippou sprinted off through the grass, back towards Sango and Kirara.

“Little twerp.” Kagome giggled, and Inuyasha gave her a lopsided grin as they began walking along the road again, side by side. “So, that offer of clothes washin’ still up for grabs?”

Kagome nodded. “I promise I’ll just use the tiniest bit of soap, just on the bits that smell.” Inuyasha halted mid-stride.

“You’re gonna _sniff_ my clothes?”

“Uh…”

“Fucking hell”, he groaned. “That’s…” Kagome reached out to take his hand in hers, squeezing his fingers.

“You like that idea, huh?”

“Yes”, he said, his voice a strangled whisper. Kagome’s heart began beating faster. Could she do it? Could she say the idea that just popped into her head out loud? Grabbing her courage with both hands, she closed her eyes.

“What if… um. What if I washed the clothes while you were still in them?” she squeaked, opening one eye to peek at him.

“Fuck, that’s… that’s…” His eyes were wide, and his mouth opened, like a fish out of water gasping for air. “Kagome…”. Then he gave her that lopsided grin she loved so much, one fang peeking out over his full bottom lip. She shivered at the heat in his gaze, butterflies churning in her stomach, and then lower. Much lower. Inuyasha sniffed deeply, licking his lips, and she whimpered.

She jumped in surprise as he turned and hollered over his shoulder to Miroku, Sango, Kirara and Shippou.

“Kagome said I stink and I need a bath! Set up camp somewhere around here. We’ll be back later.”

Kagome shrieked as he picked her up and flung her onto his back, sprinting off into the forest towards the unmistakable scent of a hot spring.

“Much later if I have any say in it”, he purred just loud enough for Kagome to hear, and she giggled, tucking her face into his neck.

“Well”, said Miroku in a surprised voice, “that went much better than I expected.” He winked at Sango. “If you ever think that my smell is unpleasant to you dear Sango, please let me know. I’d be happy to take a bath at your leisure.”

“In your dreams Houshi”, Sango grinned, setting off down the road to look for a suitable camp site.

“Both fortunately, and unfortunately for me... yes”, sighed Miroku, following along behind her.


	2. Sweet

Kagome kept her head down as Inuyasha charged through the trees, trying to maintain her balance by squeezing her thighs against his hips as he charged down a steep wooded slope. She tucked her head in behind his shoulder. Now that she knew that a bath was on the horizon, his concentrated smell was easier to tolerate, and even though she had no fear that he would drop her, she didn’t really fancy getting a slap to the face with a random tree branch.

Peeking over the top of his shoulder, she could see the steam rising from the hot spring up ahead, the afternoon sun at just the right angle to make it seem like it was shimmering gold. But why wasn’t he slowing down? If he kept running at this speed they were totally going to-

“Inuyaaashaaaaaa!” she squealed, bracing herself for their impact with the water.

He skidded to a stop just before the edge of the spring, and she slapped him hard on the shoulder as he sniggered at her reaction.

“Was that really necessary?” she grumbled, sliding down off his back.

“Nope. It was fun though. Right up until the moment you tried to deafen me – I coulda done without that”, he teased, sticking one clawed finger in his ear and wiggling it about to imply she’d damaged his hearing. He plonked himself down next to the hot spring on a flat rock, sitting like an eager puppy, hands placed directly on the ground between his feet. “So, how are we gonna do this?”

Kagome shrugged off her backpack and pulled out her soaps and small bottle of washing detergent. She had two different soaps – one was a body wash that smelt like cherry blossoms, and the other one was a honey and oatmeal goats milk soap that she used on her face.

“First, I want you to smell these and see which one is easiest on your nose”, she said.

He sniffed each of them in turn, pushing the detergent far away from him after a tiny whiff, coughing a little at the strong scent, and wrinkling his nose a little at the cherry blossom one. The goats milk one he sniffed twice.

“That one’s not too bad.”

She smiled at him, feeling pleased. Even though the goats milk soap was a little more expensive, if that was the one he could stand the easiest, she’d happily give the others up. Maybe she could find out what the village women used to do their laundry at the river.

“Okay, that’s the one we’ll use then.”

“For washing the clothes?” 

“For… for all the washing”, she said. Now that they were here, she was feeling a little nervous. About what exactly, she wasn’t sure. Maybe because, whatever happened here would change her relationship with Inuyasha forever. He blinked at her.

“You okay?”, he asked, his voice shifting from eager to a little unsure.

“Inuyasha, are you sure this is what you want?” She knelt down in front of him, fidgeting anxiously trying to look into his eyes to work out what he was feeling. “I want to do this with you, want to be close to you, but if you don’t want this, I’m happy to let you bathe by yourself and I’ll wait.”

His hands reached out to her, grasping her fingers firmly.

“Kagome. This is about the one thing I’m absolutely sure of. I’m sure about you.” She sighed, unable to keep the beaming smile from breaking across her face.

“I’m sure about you too”, she grinned. Standing up, she kicked off her loafers and peeled off her socks, then stepped slowly into the hot spring, fully dressed. She looked over her shoulder at him. “Inuyasha? Are you coming in?

Her eyes widened as he undid the cords that kept his suikan closed, shrugging it off his shoulders, then balanced on each foot to loosen the ties that kept the billowing legs of his hakama gathered around his ankles.

“No point washin’ these unless they’ve got blood and dirt on ‘em, and they don’t at the moment”, he explained.

When he reached for the tie at his waist, Kagome turned her back and waded a little further out into the hot spring, to where there were a few flattened rocks protruding from the water. She would _not_ stand and ogle at him. She wasn’t _Miroku!_ But still… she peeked over her shoulder, just in time to see a flash of toned powerfully built thighs as he dropped his hakama and kicked them aside.

 _Oh!_ She hardly ever got to see his legs, and they were so defined and muscular, the skin there as tan as the rest of him, despite being constantly hidden under his hakama. Smooth skin rippling over hard muscle like warm honey… Resolutely she turned around again. This was about getting _clean_.

She placed the bar of soap down on the rock, all her senses attuned to Inuyasha wading into the water behind her. She couldn’t help the naughty thoughts that kept trying to surface. Inuyasha had told her he liked her scent. He’d told her that if couples liked each others scent that was how you found a mate. All the dreams she’d had about her and Inuyasha being finally together after they’d confessed their feelings to each other began to filter into her head in vivid detail, and the thought that perhaps they could get dirty before they got clean popped into her head. _Stop it!_

“Kagome?”

She turned around to see Inuyasha standing before her in his cream coloured kosode. The fabric clung to his skin where the water had splashed as he’d walked towards her, and even though his undershirt was long enough to cover him to mid thigh, it was easy to see the outline of his fundoshi underneath in the hip deep water. She gulped, then took a deep breath. She could do this.

“Bob down in the water and get your kosode wet for me” she asked, her voice tentative, and he did, golden eyes locked on hers.

Inuyasha was trying to work out what was going on with Kagome. She was the one who’d suggested this after all, he was just a willing participant. Very willing. The thought of having her hands on any part of his body was thrilling, even if it was just to wash him. But she’d told him she’d liked the way he smelled, and if that wasn’t an invitation to take their relationship to the next level, he didn’t know what was. And she’d offered to wash him and his clothes, like mates did as they cared for each other. He was hoping she’d allow him to wash her too, even though he didn’t relish the thought of diluting her intoxicating scent. But the thought of touching her more than made up for that, and had him practically vibrating with excitement. She’d as good as told him she loved him and wanted to be his mate; and he’d never been happier.

Even with the water dampening her scent, he was loving this. Her usual sweet smell was there, rising around her like a cloud. He wanted to bury his nose in her hair, drown himself in it. Today, it was almost like over ripe plums, so thick he could almost taste it on his tongue. And there was just a hint of sweet sesame. He knew what _that_ smell meant.

_The air had been heavy and still, not even a summer breeze to stir the humidity. He’d been sitting above the campsite, keeping watch as he usually did, dozing but alert enough to intercept any threat to his pack. The others were all sleeping peacefully after their long day of walking, Miroku and Sango on one side of the fire, now burnt down to embers, and Kagome on the other. For once, the little runt wasn’t tucked into her sleeping bag with her, because she’d said it was too hot to share. Instead, Shippou was over by Kirara, the two small demons cuddled up together in a small fluffy pile._

_He’d opened his eyes warily when he first heard a noise, already on the alert. Kagome was moving a little in her sleeping bag, obviously dreaming. At first, he’d thought she was having a nightmare, and he was about to jump down to shake her awake. But then she’d moaned. And it wasn’t the sort of moan you made when you were fearful. It was breathy and wanton, making his ears stand to attention. He’d watched, unable to look away, as her hips shifted, his ears twitching as he listened to her heartbeat escalate. She’d pushed the sleeping bag down to her waist, and her sleeveless thin cotton shirt revealed just a hint of the paler skin at the side of her breast, usually hidden. The still night air allowed her scent to rise towards him, a heady perfume of sweetness laced with a nutty undertone that him almost salivating. Was she..?_

_“Inuyasha”, she whimpered, her hands fisting on the soft fabric of her sleeping bag at her waist. She bit her bottom lip, those little white teeth denting the soft rosy skin. He could see her legs moving, cocooned within the fabric, and then she’d rolled onto her side, facing him, her hips circling rhythmically. She’d moaned again, her mouth a little open, her breathing a little laboured, and he’d nearly moaned along with her, adjusting his hakama which were suddenly feeling more than a little restrictive. She was dreaming about_ that _and she’d said_ his _name._

_It seemed wrong to watch her while she was asleep, forbidden and disrespectful, but he felt trapped by her scent as it rose to ensnare him, his body longing to go down to her and act on his raging instincts to take her and make her his. But he maintained his distance. He didn’t feel worthy of her. Even if she did have dreams about him, that didn’t necessarily mean that she loved him, wanted him forever like he wanted her. Until she told him so, in her own words, he would hold back._

Inuyasha stood as still as he could in the heated water of the spring, waiting for Kagome to make the first move. He could tell she was still feeling a little uncertain, her pupils wide like a startled deer ready to bolt at any moment. He wouldn’t do anything to frighten her and jeoperdise this first step towards her touching him in a more intimate way. She’d always been shy about things like nudity, he only had to remember the way she’d reacted to his sudden naked appearance when he’d sprinted into her room after Souta had tried to boil him alive in the Higurashi bathroom. They would take this at her pace. He only hoped he could hold back his responses once she touched him. His fundoshi was already feeling tight, and they’d barely done anything.

She dipped her hands in the water, lathering her slim fingers with bubbles, then placed the bar of soap back on the rock. The mild milky smell of the soap blended well with her sweetness, and he held himself still as she placed her hands on his chest, wanting to whine at her touch. He saw her nose twitch delicately, and it was the cutest thing. He wanted to kiss her so badly.

Her hands ghosted over his chest and stomach, leaving the slightest trail of soap behind, and he shut his eyes so he could focus on the feel of those teasing fingers, his heart soaring at her touch. A mate’s touch. Finally he would be wanted, needed, and he couldn’t wait to touch her back, show her his devotion in the act of caring for her. His sweet girl.

“Arms up, Inuyasha.”

He obeyed without question, hers to command, for the moment at least. Those little hands retreated for a moment, and then they were back again. She was rubbing the bar of soap directly over the fabric bunched under his armpits. Made sense he supposed; hair, underarms and groin were where scent was concentrated. The thought of those little fingers on his groin made him almost whimper again.

“Arms down. Can you turn around for me?”

She gathered his hair, moving it to drape over his shoulder out of her way, and then the bar of soap was rubbed over the back of his neck, half on his collar, half on his skin. He realised that she was having to reach up above her head, and he knelt down in the water to make it easier for her. She leaned closer, and he felt one of her breasts brush the back of his shoulder as she worked her fingers into his collar, brushing over his skin. Fucking hell.

“Um… Inuyasha? I need you to take this off so I can rinse the soap out properly and squeeze the water out. Is that okay?”

She was asking him to strip down to just his fundoshi in front of her. Was that okay? He’d never heard of anything he’d wanted more in his entire life. It was all he could do not to rip the cloth keeping him apart from her touch to shreds.

“I can do that”, he said, hardly recognising the gravelled tone of his voice as his own. The wet ties keeping his kosode closed took a few moments to untangle, but he was determined, and finally they came loose. He shrugged the shirt off his shoulders, feeling Kagome take its weight. He ducked down in the water again to rinse the soap bubbles clinging to his neck away.

Kagome walked over to a another large flat rock, dragging Inuyasha’s kosode through the water to rinse it thouroughly, then twisted it to wring as much of the water out of it as she could. She sniffed the armpits and collar – these were the parts that had smelled the most to her, but they were much better now. There was still a slight smell to them, but they smelt more of just Inuyasha now than of rank sweat. With a pleased smile she spread the fabric out on one of the large flat rocks in the afternoon sunshine to dry.

Turning back, she couldn’t help staring at the sight before her. His wet skin glistened in the afternoon light, the lean muscle of his chest and abdominals on display for her eager gaze in the hip deep water, his wet hair still clinging to his shoulder where she’d placed it, hiding the only flaw in his perfect skin, the pale raised scar over his heart from Kikyou’s arrow. Normally when she saw him without his undershirt, it was because he was wounded, and she was more concerned with treating his injuries, her mind too full of worry to appreciate his looks. But now…

“You’re beautiful”, she whispered, and his ears flickered, turning pink at the tips.

“Kagome, ya can’t just say stuff like that.” Her heart swelled at the almost shy look he gave her. He was being so unlike his usual brash self. What was going on?

“But you _are_ beautiful Inuyasha”, she smiled, wading back towards him, the water at almost breast height on her shorter body, and she realised his eyes were locked on her chest. She realised with a heated flush that he was looking at the peach coloured lace bra now revealed by her probably totally transparent wet cotton shirt. Realising she’d seen where he was looking, he averted his eyes for a moment, but then they flicked back again, then upwards to her eyes. His face was flushed, and she guessed that it wasn’t totally from the heat of the water.

She breathed in, and swallowed her embarassment as best she could. She knew that this would happen when she walked into the hot spring with her shirt on. There was no point getting flustered about it like she usually would have. Besides, knowing that he was looking, was kind of… thrilling. She stood in front of him with the bar of soap still in her hand.

“Here, gimme that. I should help you wash your shirt too.”

“Oh, um...” She’d actually planned to wash her own clothing in the usual way, privately, but the look on his face was so _pleading_. This seemed important to him. And where was the harm, really? It didn’t have anything at all to do with the fact that she really wanted to feel his hands on her. “I guess that’s okay.”

He reached out to take the soap from her hand, fingers gliding over hers, lingering. The look on his face was almost reverent, his eyes warm and golden in the afternoon sunshine, and she realised there was something deeper going on here. This was more than just washing to him. Had she accidentally said something more than she’d meant to, when she’d suggested this? Was this like some sort of youkai courtship thing, washing each other? Her heart began beating faster. Not that she was totally adverse to that – she loved him, wanted to be with him, more than anything, but she’d rather know what was going on! Her fingers grasped his around the soap.

“Um, Inuyasha, what does this mean to you? Us washing each other?”

“That’s what a mate does. You wash each other, look after and care for each other.” His eyes lost their dreamy glow and were suddenly overtaken by panic. “Wait, did you not…”

She could pinpoint the exact moment when the feeling of self loathing and despair hit him, she’d seen it often enough in his eyes before. He was going to run, and it would take forever to earn his trust back. Not this time! Not when they were so close! She launched herself at him before he could leap, wrapping her arms around him tightly as he struggled to break free without hurting her.

“I didn’t know”, she gasped, “I didn’t know it meant _exactly_ that. But I love you Inuyasua, I love you! I want us to be together! I want that with you, whatever that means to you! Explain it to me, _please_! Just don’t run away!”

His breaths were rough, gasping, his tone pleading. “You would want that? With _me_?”

She looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears at the broken sound of his voice. He sounded so unsure. Releasing him only to reach upwards with both hands, she tugged gently on both forelocks, bringing his head down so she could look directly into his eyes.

“I would want that”, she said, trying to put all the love she could into her words. “I would want that _because_ it’s you.”

Taking a deep breath, she slid her hands to his cheeks, cupping his face, and then kissed him, softly, gently, trying to convey every single emotion she could in the touch of her lips, the caress of her fingers.

It took a few moments, but then he responded, his lips tentative at first, then firmer.

She squeaked against his lips as she felt strong hands enclose her waist, lifting her so she was sitting on the rock out of the water. Now she was at the same height as him, her eyes level with his.

“Kagome.” The expression of self loathing was slowly disappearing and being replaced with that golden reverent look, and she breathed a sight of relief.

“I’m sorry if I scared you, I didn’t mean to. I could tell this was important to you and I just wanted to be sure, that’s all. You never have to doubt the way I feel about you Inuyasha, okay?”

“Okay.” He stroked her cheek. “You wanted to know what it means for us to wash each other?”

She nodded, taking the now slightly mangled soap from his hand and replacing it with her own.

“Bathing together is important to youkai packs. It’s a family thing, a chance to be together, talk together. Especially for mated couples, because it shows that you care for one another, and want to reaffirm the bond. When you said that you wanted to wash me… and you said you liked the way I smell… Kagome. That’s…”

She smiled up at him, turning her face to kiss his palm. “I could see that was important to you. And I do like the way you smell, I always have. So, explain the mate thing to me. That’s like humans being married, right?”

He nodded. “To me it is. There are some youkai who are mated for just a season, but I don’t want that.”

“I don’t want that either”, she said softly. “I can’t see myself feeling like this for anyone else Inuyasha. I want to be with you and no one else.”

“You’d wear my mark?” His eyes examined hers anxiously, flickering between hope and uncertainty, and she pulled his hand from her cheek to squeeze his fingers.

“You’ll have to explain what that means to me. But if it’s something that shows others that we belong together, then I’m all for it.”

“It’s like a blood oath. I would make cut on your smallest finger here”, he said, and Kagome shivered as he ever so delicately ran his claw across the skin of her pinkie finger on her left hand, “and you would make a cut on my thumb. We would clasp hands and make a binding promise to care for each other, and usually, our combined youki would bond us together. And then every time we uh… mated…”, Kagome couldn’t help the blush that rose to her cheeks, but she kept her focus on his intense amber eyes, unable to look away, “youki feeds into the promise, making it stronger. Any other youkai will be able to sense that it’s there, that we are mated. For some, it’s just for a season, until the female is pregnant - that bond is easily broken. For some couples, it’s until their pups are grown enough to take care of themselves. For others, it’s for life, until one of them dies.”

“I want that. To be bonded to you for life. Would that happen with us?”, Kagome asked excitedly, squeezing his fingers. To her it sounded like Inuyasha was describing a red thread of fate, which made her heart soar. “I mean, I don’t have youki, would it still work?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of any youkai making a mate promise with a human reiki user.” His face fell, and that look of uncertainty returned. “And I’m hanyou, I might not be enough-”

“You’re enough for me”, said Kagome firmly, “more than enough. The only thing that matters is that we make a promise to each other, and mean it. That’s all I want. That’s all I need.” She smiled wryly. “And surely the fact that I came back five hundred years through a magical well to find you would count for _something_.” She smiled when he chuckled. “Let’s do this Inuyasha!”

“Now?!”

“Yes, now. You said you were sure about me Inuyasha. That’s still true isn’t it?”

The kiss he gave her was soft and heartfelt, full of promise.

“You know it is.”

Kagome looked at his hand carefully, running her forefinger over the meaty part of his thumb. “How big does the cut need to be? I don’t want to hurt you.” Inuyasha snorted, as if the idea of her being able to hurt him was laughable. Kagome rolled her eyes. “I’ll have to get something to do it with, seeing I don’t come equipped for this”, she said, wriggling her own fingers to display her blunt human fingernails. Inuyasha shrugged.

“Just use my claw to do it. Just as long as you’re the one doing it, I don’t think it matters how you do it.”

“Okay.”

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the point of Inuyasha’s clawed forefinger against the thumb on his left hand. It took a surprising amount of force to cut his skin, and even then it was only small, just enough for the blood to bead and gradually trickle down. He held his bleeding thumb over his palm, allowing the slow drips to collect in there.

“Okay, now you do mine”, she said, holding out her hand.

It took Inuyasha a few moments to be able to work himself up to hesitantly scratch a cut into Kagome’s skin, his ears flattening as he did so. Kagome copied what Inuyasha had done, allowing the small trickle of blood to collect in her palm. She looked expectantly at Inuyasha, waiting to be told what to do next. He took her hand, squeezing their bloodied palms together and intertwining the tips of their fingers so they pointed upwards.

“Kagome, I would take you for my mate, to love and care for, to protect and honour, for as long as we both should wish it.” His voice shook a little as he spoke, his words quiet as if he hardly believed he was the one speaking them. He nodded at Kagome. She took a deep breath, trying to remember the words as he had said them exactly.

“Inuyasha, I would take you for my mate, to love and care for, to… protect and honour, for as long as we both should wish it.”

She could feel Inuyasha’s youki enveloping her, almost like a caress, and without her even having to will it, her reiki rushed up to meet it. She could feel the opposing energies mixing but not, almost like oil and water swirling together, both retaining their own qualities but not overpowering the other, like they recognised that there was no threat. There was a small spark within their joined hands, almost like a static shock, and they both watched in awe as their hands glowed brightly. Kagome yelped and Inuyasha hissed as they both felt an intense moment of pain, something like the heat of a burn on the fingers that had been cut, and then the glow on their hands dissapated.

“Are you okay?” they both said at the same moment. Inuyasha chuckled, reaching out with his other hand to stroke Kagome’s cheek.

“My Kagome.”

Kagome moved her mouth to kiss Inuyasha’s palm, and then smiled up at him. She couldn’t speak, it was like the feelings in her chest were too big to contain, like they were trying to bubble out of her, pushing back her words. He dropped a kiss on her forehead, then her cheek, then softly on her lips.

“I love you”, he whispered, his mouth moving against hers, and she swallowed his words eagerly, taking them for her own.

“I love you too, Inuyasha, so much.” She looked down at their hands, still joined. “Did it work the way it was mean to?”

Carefully, Inuyasha pulled his palm away from hers, and she gasped. The blood was gone, vanished as if it had never been there, and there was a very fine strand of energy connecting their hands, anchored from his thumb to her little finger. Where they had made the small cuts was now a raised silver scar, like a long healed burn.

“It worked”, said Inuyasha in amazement. “Kagome! It worked!”

“It’s beautiful”, she whispered, looking at the fine thread. She could sense both their energies within it, like her reiki and his youki had woven themselves around each other to create a single strand, the yellow and pink twisted to create a pale amber cord, much like Inuyasha’s eyes. She guessed it would only be visible to those with youki and reiki. “You said we could strengthen it right? I don’t ever want this to break!”

“We strengthen it by showing our love for each other”, he murmured, his nose nuzzling in against her neck. “Anything we do to care for each other will help strengthen the bond, although mating is the most direct way.”

Kagome felt the heat rising in her cheeks at his mention of mating, but smiled at him, picking up the soap sitting next to her on the rock. “You wanted to wash me right? And you said that was a way mates strengthen their bond? Let’s start with that, and take it from there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it looks like this will be in three parts, not just two. The last part, 'Spicy' is half written already.


	3. Spicy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We all knew it was never going to be just washing. You were really kidding yourself there Kagome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this has taken so long. And to be honest, I'm not entirely happy with it. I've been under a lot of stress lately, and it seems my writing muse has gone on holiday.   
> If you read this and some of it sounds familiar, I went back through some of my previous completed work, both for Fairy Tail and Inuyasha, just to try and get inspiration going again.   
> Maybe I'll come back to it one day and fix it. But right now, it just needed to be posted so I could finally stop worrying about it and move on to other things.

Inuyasha’s heart was still beating fast as he took in the sight of Kagome, sitting on the rock in front of him. Although she was outwardly calm, he could hear her heart pounding in her chest too, like they’d both just run a marathon. Taking the soap gently from her hand, he watched as her eyes locked on the raised pale scar on his thumb.

She was still entranced by the thin cord of combined youki and reiki that bound them together, her grey eyes shimmering with emotion. It was like she almost couldn’t believe that they were connected. When he concentrated and reached out with his youki he could feel her wonder, her delight through the bond, like a shadowy echo of his own feelings. Her presence was still tentative as the bond was only new, but it was _there_. He knew how she felt. _He_ almost couldn’t believe it.

Kagome had agreed to become his mate. _Was_ his mate. Had agreed almost as soon as he’d told her about the youkai ceremony, had embraced the possibility of it working wholeheartedly. He’d sensed no hesitation in her at all, just love. He felt like his chest was going to burst with all the feelings he was struggling to contain for the woman in front of him. His sweet girl. His mate. He ached to touch her. He sucked at putting his emotions into words; he needed to _show_ her. .

“Can I touch _you_?” he asked, his voice a little graveled by the emotion he was struggling to hold back. “Not just your clothes, but your skin?”

Kagome’s heart began beating even faster, but she nodded, pink rising in her cheeks as she let go of his hand. She pulled her shirt off over her head, tossing it behind her on the large flat rock she was sitting on. Then she undid the button and zip that held her skirt closed, and lifted her hips, blushing even harder as he eased her wet skirt down off over her legs, the roughened skin of his calloused fingertips dragging over her sensitised flesh.

Kagome fought the urge to cross her arms, fingers fidgeting. Yes, she still had a bra and panties on, but he was _staring_ at her, and she couldn’t help the slightly defensive tone of voice.

“Well, are you going to wash me or not?”

“Just gimme a moment”, he said, placing the soap back down on the rock, his voice sounding dazed. “Just gotta check somethin’ first.”

Inuyasha gently took hold of her wrist, tugging her arm upwards, and before she could protest, he’d buried his nose into her armpit, inhaling deeply.

“Inuyashaaaa!” she pleaded as heat flooded her cheeks, “Please don’t, I probably smell so baaad!” She tugged at the gentle hold he had on her wrist, but he held firm. He shook his head vehemently.

“You smell so _good_ Kagome. Please, just let me do this before I hafta wash it away.”

She could hear him inhaling deeply, and to her absolute mortification, she felt the wet rasp of his tongue running over her skin. He whined slightly, licking harder. Then she was trying to pull away again, but for an entirely different reason.

“Stop it”, she giggled, trying to twist her torso away from his lapping tongue. “I mean it, it tickles!”

“But you taste so good!” he whined. “Even better than you smell!”

He released her arm, lowering it down again but continued licking a path across her sweaty skin, moving upwards to follow the edge of her collar bone, the hollow of her throat, and then dipped his head down to the valley between her lace covered breasts.

“Right here. You smell so good right here”, he sighed, his tongue lapping at the hollow created by the way her bra cups pushed her breasts together.

His eyes lifted to hers; and she couldn’t help but giggle at him. Inuyasha’s pupils had blown wide, his nose was quivering a little between her breasts. He looked almost drunk on her scent. She was momentarily reminded of the time Buyo had spilled a whole box of catnip on the floor and rolled around in it.

“My Inu”, she breathed fondly, using her fingers to stroke his ears as he continued to lick at her skin.

“I can’t get enough of you”, he whispered, burrowing his nose between her breasts. “I’ll never get enough.”

He moved upwards, taking a moment to look deeply into her eyes; he licked her cheeks, her lips, then her chin, nuzzling his face against hers, then nibbled at her lips, as if asking permission to kiss her again. As soon as she parted her lips, he drank in her little sighs and moans greedily, devouring her lips, stealing her thoughts, all that existed were teeth and tongues, her warmth and softness against him.

Pulling back just enough to lick at her swollen bottom lip again, he smiled at the picture she made. Eyes closed, swaying slightly as if she’d fall back into the water if he didn’t hold her steady. He’d always thought her appearance was lovely, but right now, with her kiss stung lips and a rosy flush creeping down the pale skin of her neck towards her breasts, she was so so _beautiful_.

The flush of her skin drew his gaze downwards to her collar bone, and he licked along the skin gently, listening to the pretty noises she made at his touch, her sounds pulling a purring rumble from him as her fingers toyed with the tips of his ears.

“My sweet girl tastes sweet too”, he purred.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome reached around behind her back to undo the clasp of her bra. She was still a little nervous, but she wanted to feel her skin against his, see if experiencing his touch for real could compare with the vivid dreams she’d had over the long lonely months that she’d loved him, thinking the attraction was one-sided.

Even after Kikyou had passed on, his obvious grief had made her keep her silence, only wishing to help him through his heart break, even though she had dreaded the thought that she might have to say farewell to him for good once their quest was completed. But now, all those fears had been put to rest. They were bonded, and she couldn’t be happier.

Inuyasha’s ears immediately pricked up at the tiny sound the metal hooks made when they came undone, and Kagome couldn’t help but giggle again. He tugged gently with one finger at the be-ribboned lace holding the cups together at the front, and when she didn’t protest, but shrugged her shoulders forward a little to help, he pulled her bra away, allowing it to drag slowly down her arms, watching with rapt attention as her breasts were revealed.

Tossing her bra behind her where she sat on the rock to join her shirt and skirt, Inuyasha pushed his face in between her breasts, using his hands to squeeze them against his cheeks while he rumbled a low growl, then looked up to grin at her when she laughed.

“They’re so soft”, he murmured, his tongue going back to work on her breasts as he moved his palms to cup their weight in his hands, eager to sample the newly revealed flesh on display. As his fang grazed over a tawny nipple which pebbled under his touch, Kagome moaned, her hands moving from his shoulders to the back of head, pushing her breast towards his mouth. His tounge lapped and swirled and she let out a keening cry.

“You tryin’ to smother me, Kagome?” he grinned teasingly, resting his cheek on her breast and glancing up at her. “Cause I could get used ta that.”

He was being so playful, and she _loved_ it. It was like he’d been released from captivity, relishing his new freedom. Perhaps he’d always carried his burden of loneliness this way, and now she was getting to see him as he should always have been. She wasn’t stupid; she knew that his past had been filled with darkness and danger, and being with her wouldn’t fix everything. But she vowed she would be there for him now to help share the load.

He went back to licking her breasts, occasionally pausing to suck at places she guessed her taste was strongest. When he drew one nipple into his mouth and suckled strongly, she couldn’t help the gasp of pure pleasure that escaped. The approving growl Inuyasha let out as he tugged at the tawny skin gently with his teeth, one fang scraping against her delicate skin, made her moan. She unconsciously began rubbing her thighs together, trying to ease the ache building between her legs. Inuyasha growled again, running his nose between her breasts.

“No soap mate”, he panted. “Not this time. Just let me taste all of you Kagome, please!”

Kagome whined as his tongue dipped underneath her breasts, sucking at the skin, swirling against her flesh. She felt like her body was in overload, the sensations almost too much. She was quivering with desire, feeling almost drunk herself.

“Lay down for me”, Inuyasha murmured, moving back to her neck, placing sucking kisses along her jaw, licking at the soft skin underneath her chin.

Trembling, Kagome did as he asked, stroking his cheek in thanks after he fashioned a rough pillow out of a bundle of their damp clothes to protect her head from the hard rock. She felt totally out of control, but she wasn’t afraid. Even though this was new and different, she didn’t want things to go back to the way they were before.

Her main concern had been whether he would find her wanting in some way, compare her to Kikyou, his previous love, even though now she had finally been laid to rest. But every thing he’d done so far showed that he was enjoying this as much as she was, and she decided then and there that she would just let him do whatever he needed, let him follow his instincts. He’d felt unloved for so long – surely this would prove to him that she accepted him as he was, all of him, the youkai and human halves that made up the person that she adored.

He dropped loving kisses on her face, stroking back her hair.

“Tell me if anything I do is too much”, he said. “I can hear how fast your heart is beating.”

“I trust you Inuyasha”, she whispered. And she did, implicitly. She always had.

Inuyasha gazed down at Kagome. His sweet girl. It was true her heartbeat was loud and rapid, thudding in her chest like a runaway rabbit,but there was no scent of fear there. It was pure desire, anticipation, and he loved that his touch made her feel this way. And they’d only just begun.

He trailed his fingers down her sides, smirking at the shy giggles she let out as his claws traced over her ribcage, drawing swirling patterns on her skin. He leaned over her and dropped his head to just underneath her breasts, moving back to where he’d stopped before, then began nibbling and licking his way downwards. He paused for a moment over the pale raised scar above her hip, where the jewel had been ripped out of her by Mistress Centipede’s teeth.

That was the day Kagome had released him from the Goshinboku, dissolving Kikyou’s sealing arrow. At the time, he hadn’t really been concerned about Kagome’s safety at all, still confused after waking, still hurting after Kikyou’s betrayal, still wanting the Shikon no Tama. And after he’d defeated the centipede youkai with one strike, he’d threatened Kagome, told her she stank, told her he’d cut her in half to take the jewel. He probably would have done it too, if not for Kaede collaring him with the subduing beads. And if he had succeeded…

“I’m sorry for that day”, he said softly, kissing the scar tenderly.

“You didn’t know me then”, she said softly, stroking his ears. “And I didn’t know you. That’s in the past my Inu, leave it there.”

He licked the surface of the scar, feeling the difference in texture under his tongue, then moved to her belly button, playfully nosing the small indentation. He was trying to go slowly, so that Kagome would feel comfortable with his touch. And truthfully, he didn’t know exactly what would happen today. But even this would be enough, now that he knew she had accepted him as a mate. 

He moved lower, to where that enticing scent was the strongest, burrowing his head between her legs, taking a deep breath. Even with the covering of cloth, her scent was almost edible – sweet and fruity, with the nutty undertone that he adored.

He licked at her inner thighs, the soft smooth skin coated in a small amount of moisture from where she had rubbed her legs together earlier. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted more. He licked directly over the cloth and growled, delighting in the small whimpers of desire that were escaping her. The cotton was damp, her flavour bursting against his tongue. So good!

“Kagome, please let me taste you”, he whined, uncaring of how desperate he sounded to her. He wanted to savour her, show his love for her.

Kagome lifted her hips, sliding her panties downwards, and he eagerly helped remove them, sliding them down her legs, sniffing them for a moment before throwing them with her other clothes. He raised her legs, moving his hands up the backs of her thighs to hold them steady, then worked his way over the skin with his tongue, dipping behind her knees, caressing her thighs with soft light licks and kisses, dragging his fangs softly over her skin, relishing every little sound she made.

Her scent was rising again, the nuttiness overtaking the sweetness. He couldn’t resist giving the rounded cheeks of her bottom small teasing nips and nibbles. Her skin here was so soft, so sweet. He pushed his nose in between her cheeks, savouring the feeling of being surrounded by Kagome, tasting her pucker with long slow licks, keeping his tongue flat to gather as much of her flavour as he could. Kagome stiffened, and the scent of her arousal was interrupted with a sudden rush of anxiety.

Inuyasha pulled back.

“Did that feel bad Kagome?” he whispered, suddenly unsure, his ears flattening as he rested his head against her leg.

“It didn’t feel bad, it felt _good_ , but…”, she whispered back haltingly, “but, I’m not sure, Inu. I might not be _clean_.” Her voice was so quiet even he had to strain to hear her.

He squeezed her cheeks gently, kissing one.

“There’s not one part of you that’s not beautiful to me. To me, you smell and taste amazing. But if humans don’t do that, then we don’t have to do it either.”

Kagome squirmed, shutting her eyes tightly. “I don’t know”, she said hesitantly. “It’s not like I really know anything much about what humans do either. No one’s ever touched me _anywhere_ down there before. I’m not ruling it out, I want _you_ , and I want you to do whatever feels right to you, but can we just… maybe come back to that?”

He licked her thigh gently as a sign of agreement, kissing the petal soft skin, then moved upwards to the source of her arousal, his eyes shutting in concentration as he savoured the sensation – she was so soft and wet here, and her scent was intensifying again.

Kagome began whimpering, her hands twisting in his hair, and he maneuvered one of her legs to rest over his shoulder, one hand pushing her thigh outwards to open her up to him, his other anchoring her lower stomach to keep her hips still. The more he licked, the wetter she got, the more she moaned, the more he licked. He tried different directions with his tongue, up and down, side to side. He pointed his tongue and gently pushed it inside her and her hips bucked against him.

“N’yashaaa!”

That obviously felt good to her, which was great because it felt _fucking_ _fantastic_ to him – her taste, the softness, the squeezing pressure of her. He could feel her arousal through the bond too, a steady building of bliss. If he didn’t watch out, he was going to come in his fundoshi just from tasting her, and at the moment, he didn’t care.

Working his tongue, he rubbed his nose against the other part of her that brought her pleasure, the small bead of flesh that had swelled as he’d worked it over before. He pushed down on her lower stomach with his hand, trying to keep her still as her hips bucked, her small panting moans increasing in frequency. Then he heard her sudden gasp, her fingers knotting into his hair, and he could feel her slick walls contracting around his tongue, the rippling of her muscles under his hand.

A rush of emotion flowed down the bond, and there was more of that delicious fluid, much more. He was in heaven. He couldn’t stop the graveled growl that escaped as he withdrew his tongue and continued to lick at her.

“Inu stop”, she whispered, her voice a breathy moan. She pushed gently at his forehead. “Please stop. It’s too good.”

Rumbling in his throat gently, he pulled back, but only enough to avoid her more sensitive skin, continuing to clean the evidence of her enjoyment away with long flat licks of his tongue. It was sticky and sweet, and he wanted to make sure that he didn’t miss any. He chased a small drop of liquid downwards, where it had dribbled over her puckered opening below, and this time she didn’t tense up, but allowed him to lick as long as he wanted, rubbing his ear gently.

She still smelt aroused, but in a gentle way, like she was happy just taking pleasure in his touch. He rested his head on the soft pillow of her thigh, sighing his contentment. His cock was still rock hard, but it would go away eventually. He wouldn’t push her, not now he knew they were bonded.

“Could I touch you too?”

Her voice was hesitant, but there was an undercurrent of excitement in her scent, and her arousal was building again. He kissed her thigh gently, rubbing his nose against her skin.

“Only if you wanna Kagome. I don’t want to push you into anything you’re not ready for.”

“I want to make you feel as good as you made me feel. But you’ll have to show me okay? I’ve never even seen a…”, she paused and blushed prettily, and he gave her teasing kiss directly over her curls. “Hey, quit it!” she whined, pushing at his forehead again as he chuckled, resting his head on her thigh again. “I mean, I saw my brother’s in the bath when he was a toddler and I was helping Mama take care of him, but-“ Inuyasha snorted.

“I’d hope I’m a little more impressive than a toddler Kagome”, he said dryly. Kagome giggled.

“Can I see?” She sat up abruptly, smiling down at him when he nuzzled his face into her soft curls again, his cheek still resting on her thigh. “Inuyasha! You had your turn. It’s my turn now. I wanna see you.”

“But I like it down here”, he murmured teasingly, flicking his tongue out slyly to pass over her clit and making her squeal and jump.

She pushed down off the rock abruptly, dislodging his head and sliding into the water. He heard her hiss a little as the heated mineralised water hit where her skin had scraped against the rough surface of the stone, and scented a faint trace of blood.

“Dummy!” he grumbled, lifting her up out of the water and draping her over one arm so he could inspect her bottom for any scrapes. “What’d you do that for! You coulda hurt yourself!” Kagome laughed, kicking her legs in the water and trying to break free.

“Because it’s my turn!” She pushed on his arm, tilting her head to look up at him with a teasing grin. “Get up there and let me see you! Any other guy would be taking a girl up on an offer like that straight away!”

“Stay still a minute would ya? I gotta fix this first.” He bent his head, running his tongue over a small scrape on one cheek, the tiny amount of blood he’d smelt beading on the surface of her skin. He licked it away carefully, making sure he covered any areas of slightly broken skin as she twisted in his arms.

“Inuuuu, what are you doing?!” she said, trying to turn her head to see.

“You scraped yourself, stupid, I’m fixin’ it.”

“Oh.”

She stopped moving and trying to watch, letting him do what he wanted, nuzzling her face in against his stomach instead. His tongue rasped wetly over the soft flesh of her bottom cheek, taking the sting of the small scratches away.

“That feels good”, she breathed softly. She really liked the feel of his tongue against her skin. Maybe he would like it too? Hesitantly she licked the skin above his belly button, tasting salt and whatever minerals were in the water. She startled as the muscles of his abdomen tightened under his skin. Maybe he didn’t like it after all. She pulled her head away. “I’m sorry, did you not-“

“Do that again”, he demanded, his voice a deep rumble. He turned her in his arms, and her legs automatically twisted to wrap around his waist, her hands resting on his shoulders while he cupped her bottom cheeks in his palms.

“Do what again? Lick you?”

Kagome gave him a mischievous grin, and then dipped her head to his collar bone, running her tongue up the tanned skin of his neck, then licking his chin. Inuyasha rumbled his approval, his eyes closing in a blissful expression she’d never seen before.

She thought for a second about why he might like that, and then remembered him licking her face before. Dogs licked each other’s faces. She knew Inuyasha wasn’t a dog exactly, and neither was she, but he did have some doglike instincts. Maybe it meant something special to him? And she wanted to do anything she could to show she valued both his human and inu sides.

She closed her eyes and continued licking his chin and lips, keeping the licks small and loving, occasionally dipping her head to lick up his throat again. She was startled when she tasted sudden salt, and looked up to see a single tear running down his cheek. But he didn’t look sad. In fact, he looked very happy, his golden eyes brighter than she’d ever seen them before. She licked the tear away gently, and he gave a deep heartfelt sigh.

“Tell me what I’m doing right”, she whispered, nuzzling their noses together. “I know you like what I’m doing, but I’m not exactly sure why. I want to know so I can do it again on purpose.”

“It’s complicated”, he breathed, pushing his forehead against hers. “You’re licking my face, which can mean that you respect me, and acknowledge my position in the pack. But it’s also showing affection and love, and it’s strengthening bonds. And licking can be about grooming – you’re caring for me, wanting me to be well.”

“That’s good then”, she smiled. “I mean all those things. Is that what you were trying to tell me when you licked my face before?”

“Yeah”, he nodded. “But I also did it because I wanted to know how you were feeling about things, whether I was moving too fast. I can tell a lot from the way you taste and smell. And also, I just love the taste of you. It feels so good to lick you, mate. And for you to do that for me too, even though you’re human… Kagome...”

“Then get up on that rock and let me lick you more!” she teased, then kissed him gently, showing that she understood what he was trying to tell her. “I love all of you, and if there’s something that feels good to you, I want to do it. We need to learn what each other likes so we can be good for each other.” She licked at the corner of his mouth. “Let me learn more about you Inu. Show me.” She wiggled in his grasp, and finally he relented, letting her slide out of his arms and back into the water.

He moved over to the rock, unravelling his fundoshi as he went, then dumped it with their other clothes, turning around and using his arms to hoist himself onto the damp rock. His erection bounced as he sat himself down and Kagome gasped. She couldn’t help it. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.

“You okay there mate?”

Heat rose to her cheeks, her eyes wide as she took in the size of Inuyasha’s cock. She’d had a vague idea of what to expect obviously, she’d done health classes at school. But they hadn’t really prepared her for the real thing. The real totally erect thing, bobbing slightly as he moved, curving upwards towards his belly button. The skin looked soft and flushed pink, but his foreskin was pulling back at the top to reveal redder flesh underneath, his small slit weeping with pre-cum, showing his obvious arousal.

“Oh shit. How is that even going to fit?!” she muttered, more to herself than Inuyasha, and he snorted with laughter.

“You’re the one that wanted to see it”, he teased. “Too much for ya?” He grinned at the intense blush on her face as she inched closer to him, her eyes seemingly glued to his erection. He tensed his stomach muscles, and cackled when Kagome jumped a little.

“It moved!” she whispered. She reached out her forefinger, running it gently down the length, and he shuddered at her touch, but stayed still for her, his hands clenching the edge of the rock he was perched on. Gaining confidence, she cupped his furred balls in one hand, testing their weight, brushing her thumb over the soft white hair. Her other hand wrapped around his cock, squeezing gently, and Inuyasha whined.

“Am I hurting you?”

“Fuck no!”

Kagome giggled, moving her hand up and down his shaft, trying to work out what she was doing. One of his hands closed over hers, squeezing it tighter.

“Ya don’t have to be so gentle”, he panted, swiping her palm over the head of his cock to gather some of the leaking fluid, then guiding her fist up and down his erection a couple of times, before taking his hand away.

She moved her fingers, grasping him tighter, and began pumping her hand up and down, slowly at first, then faster as she listened to his panting breaths increasing. She wanted to _see_ him come, wanted to see the evidence that she could be the one to make him feel good, and she realised that she was panting along with him.

It was turning her on so much, watching him let go, and she bit her lower lip at the sight of his head tipped back in ecstasy, his claws scratching into the rock to keep himself steady. It was almost like she could feel his feelings, sense his bliss. His hips were moving now, giving her an indication of what speed to move her hand, and she was pretty sure he was very close.

“You’re so beautiful”, she whispered, the hand cupping his balls squeezing them gently. “Show me Inu. Show me what you look like when you come.” Her thumb slipped on the slick leaking out of him, and she swirled it around his head and underneath it, dragging down the sticky fluid, wanting nothing but to bring him pleasure.

“Kagome… gonna…”, he grunted, his eyes screwed tightly shut, and she watched in amazement as thick streams of white spurted out of him, splattering his abdominals with the sticky evidence of his satisfaction, her own core spasming a little as if in sympathy – not quite an orgasm but very pleasurable all the same. She kept her hand moving gently, not sure if she should stop or not, until he reached down to gently still her fingers, pulling them off his limp cock and entwining them with his.

“Was that okay?” she asked.

Inuyasha let go of her hand to grasp her waist and lift her out of the water, pulling her to sit astride his lap. His hands brushed over her cheeks, holding her steady for a heated kiss.

“That answer your question?” he panted. “Fuck Kagome, that was… no one’s ever touched me like that before.”

She grinned at him. “Then get used to the idea of it happening again because I liked it.” She licked the corner of his mouth. “I like touching you. There’s not one part of you I don’t love.”

The cum on his stomach now coated hers too, and blushing furiously, but wanting to prove her point, she scooped up a small taste on her finger and sucked on it, then licked her lips.

“Um, salty”, she said, her expression showing her puzzlement. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was expecting, but the extreme saltiness was surprising.

Inuyasha snorted. “You don’t have ta do that. I’m not gonna get upset if you don’t like it.”

“Oh, but I want to get used to it”, she purred, rocking against him, his previously limp cock already stirring in interest. “How else am I going to return the favour? After all, you tasted me?”

“If you keep doin’ that Kagome, there’s gonna be more than just tastin’ goin’ on” he growled, grabbing her hips in an effort to keep her still, but it was only half-hearted. If she was willing, he definitely wasn’t going to turn her down.

“Are you sure you’re ready for that Kagome?” he asked, nuzzling her neck. “We don’t have to right now, if you want to wait.”

Kagome kept rocking her hips on his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“But you’re right here”, she whispered. “And we’re all alone for once. And I’ve waited so long, wanted you for so long! We are bonded, you are my mate. Please, love me Inuyasha.”

He kissed her again, his teeth nibbling at her plump bottom lip as she sighed into his mouth, her tongue so sweet and just as aggressive as his as she slid her wet folds teasingly over his rapidly stiffening length. He gasped, overwhelmed by sensation and drowning in the feel of her. Slanting his head, he continued to kiss her, wanting to steal her breaths and make them his own, wanting to hoard each and every tiny little whimper meant just for him as she rocked against him. But if they were going to do this, he wanted her to be as comfortable as he could make her.

Cradling her close to him, he pushed off the rock and slid back down into the water, wading purposefully towards the grassy bank where he’d left his fire rat and Tessaiga. He almost slipped on a loose rock in the water as she continued to lick at his throat and run her fingers through his hair, her fingers caressing the downy fluff inside his ears.

“Kagomeee”, he whined, and she giggled, nuzzling her nose into his neck.

“Aw, you’re a tough guy, you can take it.”

She wiggled in his arms, her excitement about what they were about to do palpable, and he couldn’t help the wide grin that split his face. She was adorable, the eagerness on her face, the happy giggles, the scent of her rising to envelop him, her soft skin, slippery and wet, so enticing. He squeezed her bottom cheeks, shifting her against him so he could safely step out of the water.

“Such a wench”, he snorted. “Just hold on, I don’t wanna drop ya.”

They were back on the bank, and he bent down to snag his suikan and the Tessaiga with one hand, the other still holding on to her tightly while she clung to him like a monkey, neither of them wanting to let go.

He moved to a small mossy clearing a few steps away from the hot spring, surrounded by tall trees. He listened intently for a few moments, scenting the air, making sure they were safely alone, then flicked his suikan so it spread out on the ground, placing Tessaiga within easy reach. He sank down to his knees, with Kagome still resting in his lap. She tucked her head into his neck, wrapping her arms around him. He could sense her arousal, her need, but also her shyness.

“You sure?” She nodded, and he nibbled on the edge of her ear, feeling her pulse rate soar. “Hands and knees mate”, he rumbled.

Still blushing, Kagome moved to kneel on his suikan, watching over her shoulder as he moved in to kneel behind her. She was so beautiful like this, her curved cheeks on display, the pale skin almost luminescent in the late afternoon sunlight. He couldn’t help but squeeze her cheeks in his palms, spreading them slightly as he bent to place an open mouth kiss on the swell of her buttock.

Baring his fangs, he scraped the points gently over the soft flesh, nipping her slightly before licking away the sting. Returning to where he’d spread her cheeks, he pressed his tongue into her damp heat, running the flat of his tongue through her slick folds then upwards, continuing in a long line that continued straight up her back, between her shoulder blades, towards the nape of her neck, nipping at the skin, listening to her panting breaths.

Caressing her skin, he nudged her knees apart with his own, moving her so she was at the right height and angle. He shifted his hands to grip her hips and rubbed his length against her core, coating himself with her essence, trying to hold back, wanting her to be sure.

“Fuck me", he whimpered as he felt her liquid heat coating his sensitive skin. He didn't think he'd ever been this hard before. "Are you ready my mate? Because I don't think I can hold back any longer.”

“Please, stop asking me!” Kagome whined back at him, swiveling her hips and grinding back against him to show her need. “I want you. Just do it!”

He tried to start slowly, he really did, but the feeling of her surrounding him was overwhelming, and with a heated groan he slammed his cock inside her in one solid thrust, stilling at Kagome’s gasp as the rough snap of his hips made her arms buckle, pushing her onto her elbows.

“You okay koishii?” he whispered, leaning over her to lick at her neck in apology. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to go so hard. You just feel so fucking good.”

“I’m okay”, she panted, wiggling against him. “You’re just… big. I think I just have to get used to you. Maybe it will feel better when you move.”

“You sure?” he repeated. He was barely hanging on, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before he spent again, but he wanted her to feel good too, wanted to make up for his moment of weakness.

“It’s okay my Inu.” She reached back with one arm to pat the side of his face. “Just move for me.”

The sensation from those first few thrusts would be branded into his memory forever, his hips nudging slowly, trying to keep his thrusts slow and steady so as not to hurt her any further. He let out another low moan, eyes closed and brows furrowed in concentration, focusing on the combined sensations of her discomfort and arousal running through the bond, her liquid fire caressing his length. It was all consuming, intense and sweltering, this delicious friction that his body was already hopelessly addicted to. He’d never experienced anything like it before in his entire life. There was nothing else to compare it to. Because it was Kagome. His mate.

“You can go a little faster”, she moaned, pushing back against him.

His hands caressed her spine as he built up speed, whispering loving words, relishing the feel of her, the scent of her, the sounds of their bodies slapping together. He could feel Kagome’s arousal rising again, the discomfort that had previously been filtering through the bond dissipating as she became used to the size and sensation of his cock thrusting inside her.

Kagome’s elbows gave out at the force of his repeated thrusts and she tipped forward, pressing her face into the rough nap of Inuyasha’s suikan, raven hair spilling out to one side, her moans muffled.

“Inuyasha”, she gasped out, unable to do anything other than grind her hips back against his thrusts, her shoulders pressed hard against the ground, fingers grasping to try and find leverage. She whimpered in pleasure as the burning heat inside her began to twist and coil again, Inuyasha’s desire and love for her passing through the bond to ease the initial sting of pain she’d felt at their joining.

“Fuck Kagome, I can feel you”, Inuyasha panted. He bent down low over her again, nibbling at the cord of her neck, then sucking hard, his rumbling growls vibrating straight through her. “I can feel through the bond how close you are.”

The sounds that she made, every little whimper of need, urged him on as he licked at the bright red mark he’d sucked into her pale skin. Every intake of air brought the scent of her arousal to him, filling his lungs and coating his tongue with her sweet taste.

He rose back up again, pounding into her once more and Kagome moaned his name. She was so close again, so very close. At the tipping point. She just needed…

“Break for me sweet girl, I need it”, he snarled. “Give it to me, Kagome. Come for me.”

…she managed to wriggle her hand down between her stomach and Inuyasha’s suikan, her fingers barely brushing over her clit, and she shattered, white stars edging her vision as her orgasm hit hard.

Feeling her clench around him, Inuyasha leaned forward again, burying his face in her hair and giving her everything he had left. He curled his body over her spine, pumping into her a few more times, then growled out his release, emptying himself into her pulsing core, his release tightening every muscle in his body to almost painful pleasure. He smothered his loud cry into her neck, his fangs grazing her shoulder.

“Kagome”, he gasped, and flopped down on top of her, pulling out of her gently and rolling her with him, his face still nuzzling into her as they panted, both spent.

“Are you okay?”

Kagome sighed. “So much better than okay. A little sore, but I guess that’s to be expected.”

“I hurt you?!”

His hands ran over her sides, nose working overtime to scent if his claws may have unintentionally injured her during their passionate embrace. There was a darkening bruise where her neck met her shoulder and he whined a small noise of contrition as he kissed it tenderly, stroking his fingers through her silken hair. 

She was quick to put his mind at rest, rubbing her cheek against his.

“No, my Inu, you didn’t hurt me, I’m fine!” She winced a little as she drew her legs up, there were quite a few muscles in her inner thighs and in a few other delicate places that were complaining. “We just stretched a lot of muscles that haven’t been stretched before. I’m okay, I promise.” She nuzzled his cheek again. “To be able to experience that with you brought me nothing but joy. I love you, so much.”

Inuyasha beamed down at her, unable to stop the smile dawning on his face. She was a mess, hair sweaty, lips bruised with kisses. Thoroughly loved, as she should be. He kissed her forehead softly.

“Koishii”, he murmured into her hair, his hand stroking down her back. “I love you too. What can I do to make it better for you?”

“Do you think we could soak in the hot spring for just a little while longer?” she asked wistfully. “I know we need to get back to the others soon, but do you think we could spend just a little bit more time together, just the two of us?”

Inuyasha gazed at the horizon. The sun would be setting in about an hour, and they should start back and find where the others had set up camp before it got too dark, not that he would have trouble sniffing them out. And tomorrow would be another day in their quest to find the jewel shards. But the idea of sitting with Kagome in the spring, just sitting without the rest of the world pressing in was more than enough to make him want to stay right where they were.

“We can do that. Besides”, he said with a teasing expression, rubbing his nose against hers, “We still have to get the clothes dry, and I still have to wash you my mate.”

He entwined their fingers, and they both smiled at the shimmering cord that bound them together, now much more distinct than it had been before. He couldn’t wait to tend to her hurts and wash her, and was already thinking about what food he might find for her on the way back to camp, eager to provide for her. She needed to replenish her energy after their very pleasant exertions, and definitely needed some sort of meat. Rabbit perhaps? It had always made him feel good to provide for her, even before he had acknowledged his deeper feelings, but now it was like a deep instinctual need.

Inuyasha picked her up in his strong arms and carried her back to the hot spring, easing her down into the hot water, chuckling at her little purr of contentment. His wench definitely enjoyed her baths. Reaching for the soap that had been discarded before, he hummed a little as he worked up a lather in his hands, then ran them down her back, massaging her shoulders gently, grinning at her soft moan of contentment.

He had no doubt that when they got back, Miroku would tease, Sango would blush and Shippou would whine, but he didn’t care. He felt lighter somehow, as if a heavy weight against his chest had been removed, one that he didn’t even know was there. There would be no secrets between them now. No more misinterpreted feelings. He sniffed deeply at Kagome's sweet scent as it combined with the mild scent of the soap. She was relaxed and happy in his arms, her eyes focused on the ribbon of combined reiki and youki that tied their futures. Their bond would only grow stronger with time. His little miko had finally broken the self-imposed barrier around his heart, and he felt like he'd finally come home.


End file.
